10 Most Popular Windows Manufactures and Their Differences

1. Andersen

Andersen markets several different product lines of windows; American Craftsman and Renewal, to name a few. This manufacturer’s products are the priciest option available in the market today. You can expect to get your money’s worth. The company is known for the quality of their products, the construction, and different design and material choices.

They offer the best green-seal wooden windows in the market. You can get a special order and custom windows along with stock sizes. Other materials available include clad, composite, vinyl, and low-E and argon-filled glass.

Andersen is one of the few companies that have wood wrapped in vinyl on their exterior panels. The wood adds strength to the vinyl and makes it low-maintenance too. Their Renewal line is made from Fibrex, which is a part wood, part vinyl material. If you’re looking for a great replacement window and don’t mind the price, Renewal is your best bet.

2. Marvin

This company is an award-winning, family-owned business and has a wide variety of products. You can get special ordered and custom windows from this manufacturer, though replacement options are limited to frame-in-frame and sash-only windows. They’re known for their wooden windows with different exterior cladding and casing options, as well as colored and glazed glass.

Some of their products command a premium price. They offer windows made from wood, clad, composite, fiberglass and low-E and argon-filled glass. Their Ultimate double hung window is beautiful and considered their most popular product.

The company has, to date, refused to make vinyl windows. Their Integrity line has fiberglass on the exterior and real wood on the interior of the windows. Their Infinity line, however, is made entirely from fiberglass but there are different stain options for the interior portion.

3. Jeld-Wen

Jeld-Wen is also one of the more popular window manufacturers. The company is considered to be one of the biggest names in the business and the only one that sells wood frames that are made from AuraLast® wood. They also have a large collection of vinyl, wood, and aluminum windows.

They offer value for money and have a good collection of replacement windows. The prices range from about $80 for a premium series window to about $640 for Builder’s series windows, all of which have high-energy efficiency. They’ve also released product lines that focus on fiberglass. Their high priced fiberglass products have realistic looking wood grains on them.

4. Milgard

This company has been around for 50 years and is one of the most trusted brands. You can get good quality products within your budget. The windows come highly recommended by most as they’re not very expensive but have a solid presence in the market. They have the budget Styleline windows as well as Tuscany, which is a mid-range series. Their fiberglass line is named Ultra and they also have a clad-wood line named Essence, which was named the Most Innovative Window by a Large Manufacturer.

You will get energy efficient windows that open and close well. If you’re looking for good quality windows at reasonable prices, you can opt for this company’s products. You’ll get a large variety of styles and designs as well.

Their quality control is very efficient, so you always get a well-made product. They also offer the best warranty in the business. You get a lifetime warranty that includes parts and labor on their higher priced products. The company has also won 2011 Smart Choice Award by the Housing Council.

5. Soft-Lite

Soft-Lite is another manufacturer that’s known for its vinyl windows. It’s considered a premier company and has several, high-quality window series in the market. It is one of the market leaders, so you shouldn’t worry much about the durability of these products. They have different series that you can pick from, including Barrington, Imperial Pro, Bainbridge, LS, Classic, and the Elements Series.

Of these, the Barrington series is the most affordable; however, the quality of this series doesn’t really stand up against the other ones. Soft-Lite is also known for its prompt customer service and replacements.

Recently, the company has started to pay particular attention to its Energy Star rated windows. Because of this, they have produced some of the most energy efficient windows. They won the 2013 award for The Most Energy Efficient Products. They’re constantly introducing new products, keeping their catalog fresh and adding diverse options.

6. Pella

Pella has three different vinyl options, however, if you want quality you’ll have to stick with their high priced products. On the other hand, they have great clad-wood windows. In fact, the latter might just be one of the best in the market. They offer great wood options, including mahogany and alder with great finishes. Their 450 series builder window is very popular amongst designers and architects. These windows are very customizable.

If you have your heart set on wood windows, you might want to look into their Architectural Series. This series contains finely detailed wood windows that are in high demand. Their fiberglass series is called Impervia; the vinyl and wood windows have a limited lifetime warranty. The wood clad products some with a 10 year warranty and replacement labor costs for 2 years.

7. Ply Gem

This company is a big name in the building and construction business and sells products to builders and contractors. It offers three series of vinyl windows, the Contractor, the Pro, and the Premium. Of this, the Contractor series is economical but also of low quality. The other two series are solid, with Premium on the higher end.

These windows are very reliable and would last without issues for many years. We would recommend that if you want to buy Ply Gem windows, opt for either the Pro or the Premium series.

The company recently expanded its collection of 1,500 vinyl windows, adding in new colors. This collection has common sash and sizing. In the replacement window category, Ply Gem has added new design and installation features with different exterior color options in both Pro and Premium series.

8. Sunrise

Sunrise is the top vinyl window manufacturer and their products are very popular amongst the consumers. They have four different series named Essentials, Verde, Vanguard, and Restorations. While they do have the best high-end vinyl windows, the Restoration series, they don’t sell everywhere. Unfortunately, they don’t sell their products in the western states.

They sell custom vinyl replacement products with different designs and high-performance glass. These have very high performance rating across the board and can be relied upon to deliver a quality product at all times.

9. Simonton

As far as replacement windows are concerned, you can’t do better than Simonton. They have different series spread across all price ranges. Their mid-range vinyl windows are particularly popular. The entry-level windows aren’t high on quality but everything above that is great and priced very well.

Their higher-end Reflections, Impressions, and Stormbreaker lines are certainly worth every penny spent. Their ProFinish Master Series offers an impressive performance rating of R-50. The ProFinish Contractor and Builder series offer versatility in design as well as value for money. The Brickmould 300 and 600 series come with intricate detailing and multi-tiered trim. If you’re looking for options in design as well as value, Simonton windows are a great choice.

The company delivers made-to-order vinyl windows in five days or less. They have also received several awards, ranking high in J.D Power and Associates’ Builder and Remodeler Window and Patio Door studies in the years of 2006, 08, 09, 2010, and 2011.

10. Kolbe

This company is known for its wood and aluminum clad windows but performs well on vinyl too. They offer six series, of which two are made from vinyl. As a small manufacturer, their products aren’t as easily available. However, if you’re looking for good quality, reasonably priced wood windows, you should opt for their products.

Their most popular product is the Kolbe Heritage window, which is made of wood. They make great aluminum clad windows as well, which can be a bit expensive but they’re not the most expensive option out there.

Recently, they’ve started to focus on oversized openings and energy efficiency. They have included triple pane glass into most for their products to reduce heating costs and energy bills.

For the best advice, get in touch with us at Window Strong. You can send us your comments, suggestions, and queries by filling in this contact usform. If you have an immediate concern, call our Installation Manager at (206) 914-7075